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Maxwell ODI absence won't last long: Finch

3 minute read

Australia captain Aaron Finch doesn't think good mate Glenn Maxwell will be out of the team for long despite missing out on the upcoming ODI tour of India.

GLENN MAXWELL .
GLENN MAXWELL . Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Australian captain Aaron Finch is confident Glenn Maxwell's ODI absence won't last long.

Maxwell was not included in the 14-man squad announced on Tuesday for January's three-match tour of India.

The 31-year-old has failed to make a half-century in his past 10 one-day innings for Australia and was one of three big casualties for the tour along with Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis.

Maxwell is set to make his playing return for Melbourne Stars in Friday's Big Bash clash against Brisbane Heat on the Gold Coast after stepping away from the game in October due to mental health concerns.

Finch says the reason for Maxwell's international axing is simple but he believes his good mate will be back on the international scene in no time.

"Obviously he'll be disappointed, like everyone is but at the end of the day he just hasn't got the runs required of a top order player in one-day cricket recently," Finch said.

"No doubt he'll be back. He's a gun. A three-dimensional player that can have such a huge impact.

"It's just a matter of time, he'll get some runs and be right back up there in the frame again."

Selectors have chosen in-form Marnus Labuschagne for a potential ODI debut, while Sean Abbott, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar and Ashton Turner have all been picked.

Finch's new Melbourne Renegades teammate Shaun Marsh and off-spinner Nathan Lyon are both out having toured England earlier this year while Nathan Coulter-Nile has been dropped and Jason Behrendorff is injured.

Finch says the door isn't closed on Lyon, who has made just 29 ODI appearances since debuting in 2012, but selectors were keen to try Agar as a spin-bowling allrounder for the upcoming tour.

"He can still play a future part. We saw the way he bowled in the World Cup when he got his opportunity," Finch said.

"Just probably a change in our approach to the spinning allrounder in Agar as opposed to the medium-pace allrounder, that's probably where someone had to drop out and unfortunately that was Nath.

"At the end of the day it still comes down to picking the best side to win. Probably a slightly different structure to how we did it last time but still very happy with how it looks."

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